Encryptions of Blood
by Dark-Sephiroth
Summary: After discovering the mysterious encryption in the Matrix's code, Trinity, Ghost, and Niobe go in to investigate. And what they find is something more dangerous than Agents and Sentinels..."
1. Prolouge

"Encryptions of Blood"  
  
Authors Notes-- Rose Dincht: This was something I thought would be pretty interesting for the LoK and Matrix fans. Apparentally Eidos seems to like The Matrix anyway with the codes and the Berserk spell in Blood Omen 2. So we figured, hey, why not throw The One, his Unplugged buddies, and the ever so sexy Agent Smith into Nosgoth? Hope you like it!

Authors Notes-- Dark-Sephiroth: Yo this is something new, but I was kinda getting bored with my last fic. Chapter one is written by me, and the prologue by Rose. We'll be continuing on a chapter each, in turns....hope ya enjoy!  
  
Oh yeah, and Dark Seph and I don't own LoK or The Matrix. That honor belongs to Eidos, Crystal Dynamics, and the Wachowski Brothers. And it's a good thing too, 'cause if we owned all that, hey! We'd mess it up! Anyway, enjoy!  
  
STORY  
  
The Path of Fate was usually eerily silent. Very few beings arrived in this place... nothing from the Matrix wished to enter Nosgoth, and nothing in Nosgoth knew of The Matrix. However, today had been a time of discomfort, bringing forth an unbalanced wave throughout both systems. And now the Path of Fate's black, stone walls echoed with the sound of footsteps. The footsteps continued to echo throughout the stone walls, loudly yet steadily. The echoes continued to grow, louder and louder, until finally, an impossibly polished white shoe stepped out of the darkness, followed by an elderly yet tall body of a male donning a white business suit. White hair and a small white beard and moustache depicted his face, and stony eyes fixed on the being before him...  
  
The Elder God, embodiment of the corruption of Nosgoth, his tentacles waved slowly, and his many pale blue eyes winked in the darkness. He regarded the visitor with a cold recognition, but said nothing Slowly, the visitor came to a halt, standing before the creature before him.  
  
"I hadn't imagined this installment of ''The One'' would bring me through this pathetic link between our systems and lead me to you..." the elderly man stated. Several eyes shone briefly from dark corners.  
''Cease your tiresome self-justification, I care not for the reason. I presume that you are here because you require MY help''? The Elder God replied, in a slightly annoyed tone. Relations between the two were none too great, mainly because the architect regarded the Elder God as a lesser being and a servant. The Elder God was created to want only power and control, It was better for the weapons of the matrix to think so. But by giving the Elder God such ambition, it had made him a little loath to accept the truth. The architect ignored this, The Elder God was also made to be used by him and had no power further than what he was granted. But he did require the help of this program. Summoning his patience he turned to the squid like being............  
  
"Unfortunately, I am. The Matrix has been nothing more but a playground for these... Unplugged rebels. My agents have not the strength to fight and defeat them now that they have grown stronger. I assume you are aware of the consequences if the Matrix was to shut down, so to say... we know what is to happen to programs without purposes..." the man, known to the Elder God as the Architect, replied bitterly, as if threatening the squid.  
Judging by the squid's long pause and sudden tension in the tentacles, the Architect knew that he had hit a nerve, and inwardly had smiled. He took pleasure in watching the self-proclaimed "hub of the wheel of fate" tensing up in fear of being destroyed.  
"What are you plotting, Architect?" the Elder God hissed. The man gave the squid a sinister look, then walked closer.  
"A temporary collision of our worlds..." was the response.  
"You wish to collide Nosgoth with the Matrix? Have you lost your senses completely, or are you just here to be nothing more then a pest in my presence?" the squid snapped.  
The man chuckled.  
"Do you believe I would be wasting my time in this disgusting path between our worlds if I hadn't a reason to do so? If the Unplugged are free to roam the Matrix, they will eventually bring it down, and both our sources will be deleted. And I do not believe my agents have the strength to defeat them..."  
  
The Architect paused for a dramatic effect. He knew the squid was interested.  
  
"Go on..." was the response.  
  
"Your system, however, have stronger programs. They will be able to drain the life from these Unplugged ones... I believe that will rid the both of us of our glitches. In order to do so, we need a temporary merging of Nosgoth and the Matrix, trapping our rebels, then separating our worlds once more."  
A long, deathly silent pause formed within the cave. The eyes examined the Architect, the tentacles tensed and eased, urging to whip out and constrict him. The Architects eyes burned into the stare of one of the Elder God's pupils. Shortly, the squid's voice broke the silence.  
  
"I will assist you..." he stated, his blinking eyes narrowing at the Architect's smirk. "The merging will begin when a creature from my system shifts the History... then send a creature of your world...."  
  
The Architect smirked.  
  
"And I undoubtedly know who to send...."


	2. Chapter I

Chapter 1  
  
Authors note (Dark-Sephiroth): Yo! As we're taking it in turns, this is my chapter. Rose will continue with chapter two if this gets good response, hope ya like it!  
  
STORY (500 Years later (from prologue))  
  
Soon after Kain exited the lair of the Elder God, everything behind him had crumbled and collapsed. It seemed to the untrained eye that the foul creature who had controlled Nosgoth in corruption for all time was finally buried. His wheel had stopped turning, and soon all Nosgoth would be restored, or at least saved from a doomed fate. But even now, all is not as it seems, deep underground, the chamber had indeed collapsed, but nothing was trapped underneath. Nothing except power cables and data transmitters. Elsewhere the Elder God resurfaced, transmitted by these cables. His plan must be put into action, and Kain's meddling was nothing more than a mere sideline diversion. His future plans actually had nothing to do with the vampire lord. Nosgoth was in no danger, for after all, it was now only a program......... The Elder God knew that Kain was of no further importance. But as said before, nothing is as it seems.  
  
Elsewhere Kain had to plan his next course of action. He knew little that the decay of Nosgoth was a mere illusion, and was driven to be its restorer. Even now he had ideas of how to go about this. Raziel must be restored. He knew little how this would be accomplished, so he had decided that he must find a replacement. There were other Raziels running throughout time, if he could get to the past, perhaps he could find himself one. Of course, there was the matter of making the past Raziel understand what had happened so far, and of getting back into the past to find him. Not to mention, also, the effects it could have on the timeline as a whole. He knew Raziel had accomplished travel to the past through means of a ''Time Streaming device'', but such a contraption was inaccessible to him. There was one in the Sarafan stronghold, but the Reaver, imbued with the element of light, was needed to open the door. Kain withdrew his own Soul Reaver, the physical blade, imbued with Raziels spirit. Perhaps this spirit was the key?  
  
Kain assumed a bat form and made straight for the stronghold. Luckily he had opened all doors that stood in the way long before and he was able to fly straight to his destination. Several guards awaited him as he landed.  
  
''Surrender now demon, and I will give you an easy death!'' Kain drew the Soul Reaver and eyed the guards with a half amused expression. ''I could promise you the same human..........., except, it would be a lie.''  
  
Instantly the guards drew out weapons and lunged at Kain. Kain dodged easily, zipped behind them with his vampiric agility, and slashed a huge arc, slicing savagely into the backs of the guards. There was a blue flash and the men fell dead instantly. Kain was impressed with the new power of the blade, that was a result of Raziels sacrifice. He drained the humans of their blood and continued to the door ahead. This was a huge door, with no handle or lock of any description. Above it was a red stone which needed a projectile imbued with light element to be fired into it. Kain had no such power, so instead he channelled his energy and unleashed a Reaver spell at the door. The stone shattered instantly and huge cracks suddenly appeared in the stonework of the door. Kain fired a few TK's and headed through.  
  
''So, the device which Moebius used to manipulate Raziel is here before me. How ironic it is that I now use this tool to restore the land his master tried to corrupt. Now, how to work the device?''  
  
Kain walked over to the main control panel, and stared at it for a moment. Luckily he had knowledge of such things and managed to set the device to a suitable date. He was about to activate it when a sudden noise halted him.  
  
Kain spun around as a green blast of energy flew past him and struck the stone walls in the background. Instantly he drew the reaver, then leapt to the side as another green blast fired towards him. Kain's eyes moved towards the source of the attacks, then his lip curled into a snarl.  
  
''Janos Audron, the father of all vampires, now a mere pawn of the Hylden.'' Janos, for it was indeed he, flew into the room and hovered above Kain. His eyes were glowing with green fire. ''Foolish vampire, you truly believe that killing the Elder God has earned you salvation? Your fate is still doomed, your pathetic actions have only brought about the restoration of our kind! Soon we shall return, it's only a matter of time!'' ''Ha, ha, ha'' Kain merely laughed back. ''Your return means nothing demon. I know your future and already how to prevent it's successes. You mean to use the vampire Janos to power your foul machines, the future Mass, and return your kind to this land. That future has already been written, your lord will be killed by me and your kind banished yet again.'' ''No, vampire, that future has not been written. Our plans have changed, your victories are nothing. Our kind will return, but we'll have no further need for you. You are no longer our enemy, you are merely an annoyance. You are no longer our concern at all, in fact. Our enemy is of far greater power'' Kain was astonished. ''Greater power?! You don't mean that you are fighting among yourselves do you!?'' Janos merely smiled. ''A good guess vampire, but you have it all completely wrong. The truth is that this world is temporarily being used as a trap for beings of immense power. While these beings are only human, they possess incredible power to manipulate the system. We are done playing around with your kind, vampire, you were only a game to us from the beginning.''  
  
Kain astonishment increased further. Janos's words were nothing like what he had expected. This didn't fit at all.  
  
''Tell me what you mean by this system, demon.'' ''No, enough talk Kain, we have no further use for you and you are in our way. Only death awaits you!''  
  
Suddenly Janos unleashed a green blast that struck Kain full force and sent him flying. He crashed into the wall with a thud, then leapt to his feet and drew the Reaver. Janos's eyes glowed greener than ever, It was then that Kain noticed that the lava red markings on Janos had spread. Half his body was covered with it, It was almost like a virus or disease. Clearly the Hylden were gaining greater control over the host body every minute. Janos hovered high above Kain and suddenly unleashed the green electricity that had earlier decimated Raziel. A blue ward shield sprung around Kain, negating the attack. He threw out his hand and grabbed Janos with his telekinetic power before leaping forth with the Reaver. The force with which he struck forth, knocked Janos from the air. He landed in a crumpled heap on the ground. Kain approached cautiously. The Reaver suddenly became surrounded with green energy.  
  
Janos seemed dead. Kain looked at him for a moment, kicked him once and turned to the control panel for the time streaming device. As he went something rose silently behind him and crept after him. Kain, holding the reaver in one hand, began to adjust the controls.  
  
Suddenly Janos reared up behind him and sent a vortex-like tornado of energy hurtling forward. Kain suddenly vanished. Janos looked around him in confusion, and too late, saw Kain appear behind him, slash him fiercely with the reaver then vanish. He had cast a Dimension reaver spell. As Janos fell a sudden warp gate opened, leading to another time. Kain leapt through with out hesitation and the gate closed behind him.  
  
Janos rose slowly, touched the controls for the device and was suddenly converted into data and he vanished.  
  
Meanwhile Kain was puzzled as to the sudden change to Janos and the true intent of the Hylden. He knew he must find Raziel at once and assumed a bat form. He landed just outside the Sarafan stronghold, It was as good a place as any to begin his search.  
  
Up ahead were some vampire hunters. Hungry after the recent battle, Kain advanced with the soul reaver in hand. Then a voice to his left halted him....A tall, elderly male in his middle years clad in an unusual black and white suit, along with strange black eyepieces approached him ''Ah, Mr Kain we meet at last....  
  
Well that's it, what more can I say, it's up to Rose now. If you liked it, (or didn't) leave a review to tell me why. Thanks for reading! 


	3. Chapter II

The Matrix's code rose and dropped constantly on the screen of the operator's control panel. The code appeared normal to the untrained eye. Lying sprawled on his panel, his arms cradling his head, was Link. He was the newest addition to the Nebuchadnessar's crew, replacing Tank as the crew's operator. The emerald encryptions' shadows danced along Link's dark face... he hadn't slept in four days. The Sentinel activity was beyond belief in that time. Morpheus had the prediction of a malfunction in the Machine Mainframe that caused the Sentinels to riot, or they were just growing hell bent on destroying The One.  
  
Link's eyes twitched... then they reluctantly opened. No sooner did the lids so much as twitch, they widened in shock and surprise. The Nebuchadnessar's operator shot back in his seat, cursing out loud.  
  
The code... the Matrix itself... something was unusual about it. The code wasn't normal. Rather than showering down the screen, it was shifting from one side to another. It hadn't been like that before. Link's arm reached up to the microphone and flipped a switch, turning on the overhead speakers.  
  
"Hey Morpheus, you better check this out, man. Something's freaky with the Matrix. I repeat, something is seriously messed up with the Matrix!" he announced in a nervous, suspicious voice.  
  
Neo's eyes opened almost instantly as Link finished the announcement. After hours of none-stop training, he was hoping to rest up for the day. So far, it wasn't working out very well. He pulled his face away from ebony strands of black hair that had belonged to Trinity. His hand slipped onto her shoulder and she received a slight shake.  
  
"Trinity.... Trinity wake up." He whispered. The woman winced, then opened her eyes slightly.  
  
"What's wrong...?" she groaned. Neo stood up and carefully pulled her to her feet.  
  
"Link announced something. Maybe we should check it out..."  
  
The ebony-haired beauty nodded her head and brushed back a few strands of her hair. She and Neo exited their room, noticing that Morpheus had coincidentally exited his room at the exact time. The three proceeded into the long, dark halls of the Nebuchadnessar, then entered the cockpit where an anxious Link awaited them. Before a word was spoken, a ringing was heard. Link switched on his earpiece.  
  
"Operator... Captain Niobe?" he stammered, eyeing Morpheus in time to see a shocked look on the man's face. "Morpheus? You wanna talk to him? Yeah, he's here... hang on..." he removed his headset and handed it to the captain. "It's all yours, man."  
  
Morpheus gave a nod, then slipped it onto his head, placing the speakers gently over his ears. "Niobe?"  
  
Within the depths of the darkened sewers rested the Logos. To the average human wandering the sewers, the ship would have been nowhere in sight. He would be wandering in complete darkness, as if moving through a star-less, planet-less outer space. Then, he would hear a quiet yet vibrating humming from within the darkness of the sewer, sounding somewhat like an electric serge and giving the darkness a pulse. A faint, blue light would build up from within the darkness, and then he would see it, the Logos complete with heavy amounts of artillery and hovercrafts.  
  
And from within the ship was Captain Niobe beside her best gunman and trusted friend, Ghost. She and her crew stood before the screen, gazing at the Matrix's bizarre code. She was nearly in a trance by the code before she heard Morpheus's voice.  
  
"Morpheus, it's Niobe. Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" she questioned.  
  
"Depends on what you're looking at..." Morpheus replied.  
  
"Well if you're looking at the Matrix's code tearing up the screen..."  
  
"You see it too, then..."  
  
"Yeah. Has anyone been jacked in?"  
  
"Not at the moment... I'm not sure if it's safe to try."  
  
"There's only one way to find out..."  
  
"Niobe?"  
  
Niobe pulled the headset off of her hair and turned to her operator. From the Nebuchadnessar, Morpheus heard a female voice commanding, "start up the Loading Zone.". Morpheus couldn't say that he was surprised. Niobe was always such a daredevil, always the first to pull a dangerous stunt, always one to prove herself worthy of respect by doing the most dangerous of tasks. It did not surprise him at all when he heard her giving the commands to prepare herself to enter the Matrix. Yet he was also filled with concern... why had the Matrix's code change so dramatically?  
  
"Niobe, you're not planning on going alone, are you?" he questioned, just as the sound of the headset fastening onto Niobe's head was heard.  
  
"Ghost is coming with me. He's my best gunner, I'll be needing him." She responded.  
  
"You don't know what might happen, Niobe. Suppose you're jacked in and you're surrounded by agents? What if there's a bomb set up ready to explode as soon as you enter?"  
  
"Now you're just talking nonsense, Morpheus."  
  
"I'm just saying you don't know what's in there..."  
  
More noises of Niobe laying down on something hard and metal were heard. "Well it looks like someone's gonna have to go eventually. And right now, that person is me and Ghost. Jack us in, Sparks..."  
  
The line went dead. Morpheus narrowed his eyes, then pulled the headset off of him, tossing it back to Link. For a long time, there was a silence, and an angered yet determined pondering look on Morpheus's face. Link eyed the captain, and shifted his gaze towards Neo and Trinity, a look of pure confusion. Then, he noticed Trinity's sudden stare onto one of the chairs.  
  
"Trin, don't..." Link stammered, just as Morpheus's eyes rested on Trinity's form moving towards the chair. Blinking and taken by her sudden reaction, Neo reached forward and took her by the wrist.  
  
"Trinity, don't go in there. Not yet..." he protested. Trinity continued to move towards the chair.  
  
"If we wait longer, there's no telling what may happen to them. Link, be my navigator. Once I'm in, tell me where they are." She stated, then rested herself in the chair.  
  
Neo gave a slight glare, then shook his head. He stormed in the direction of another chair, only to have Trinity's iron grip grasp him by the wrist. The feeling he felt was as if he were split in half. In one half, it felt that somebody had hit the "off-button" on his legs, bring him to a halt. In the other half, Trinity's grip was so sudden and so strong that it nearly ripped his arm out of his socket, forcing him to stop before the ripping took place. Neo slowly turned, staring into Trinity's concerned yet hardening eyes, giving her a nod. Link reached behind her, and in a brief moment, before another thought of reluctance or fear had formed, she was jacked in...  
  
Trinity's eyes widened. Almost instantly, her virtual appearance would have kicked in by now, yet this hadn't occurred. Not yet, at least. She was standing in darkness... total and complete darkness as if someone had slipped into the Loading Zone and gave it a coat of black paint. Before she could breathe a word, a strange, fuzzy, buzzing sound and look had formed on the blackness, and the encryptions and code of the Matrix formed, showering and completely surrounding Trinity's figure. Smaller encryptions slowly fell from top to bottom like snowflakes and planted themselves onto Trinity's body and her eyes, gathering together slowly, then exploding in green light, covering Trinity's frame in her black-leather pants, boots, gloves, trench-coat and sunglasses. The code then planted onto the slots on her arms, legs, head and back, erasing them completely from Trinity's vision. And just as the impossibly seemed to have limited barriers, the code began to shake. It happened once... twice... and then the code almost seemed to be swiped away... and when it returned...  
  
The code was no longer green...  
  
It was red...  
  
"Oh my God..."  
  
The red encryptions spiraled around Trinity's body, creating a miniature tornado of digital code, forming a virtual gust of wind causing her trench-coat and hair to fly and dance in the gust, before the encryptions abandoned her and planted themselves onto the screen, sliding from left to right, creating gothic, 18th Century architecture, then zooming like a rushing river, creating roads, alleys, and pathways, blasting upwards, forming a blackened sky. And finally, the last of the encryptions fell down towards the ground, taking the form of men and women alike, clothed in blue and green dresses and tunics. Trinity eyed her surroundings, then slipped off her sunglasses...  
  
"What the hell...?"  
  
Niobe scanned the area that had formed just before her eyes. The African American woman reached down her burgundy leather wardrobe and slipped out her Desert Eagles from their holsters, preparing herself for any sudden attack. At her side, Ghost held an M-16 along with a sniper- rifle strapped onto his back. The area before them was that of incredibly dark, gothic slums and crypts. The sky was filled with smog and mist, similar to that of their world, having once seen the surface of their planet and gazing at their blackened sky. A few small fires were planted here and there, possibly for homeless citizens, but they stood before an incredibly massive temple decorated with flags of all colors and baring strange crests.  
  
"What the hell is this place?" she asked her partner, who merely rose and dropped his shoulders, indicating his clueless-ness. "I was afraid you were gonna say that..." She holstered one of her desert eagles and pulled out her cellphone.  
  
"Operator..." came Sparks' voice.  
  
"Good to hear you, Sparks. At least our connection's working. Could you inform us on where the hell we are?" Niobe questioned.  
  
"I'm not sure myself, Captain. The code is getting more strange by the moment. I'm running a scan trying to locate you but I can't even see anything... not architecture, people, landscape... nothing." Sparks replied.  
  
Niobe glared in frustration. "This is gonna be a real bitch. Sparks, keep scanning and try to find us. We'll be needing a navigator by the looks of this place. And try not to take your time, this place is anything but comforting..."  
  
With that, Niobe cut off her connection, then brought out her gun out of her holster. Turning to Ghost, she nodded and headed towards the temple.  
  
'This is gonna be one hell of a day...' she thought to herself as she and Ghost approached the doors of the temple. 


End file.
